Top 5 Ways Bridges Can Improve Your Smile

If you hesitate to smile or talk because of a missing tooth, you’re a great candidate for a dental bridge. When it comes to restoring your teeth and creating the smile you deserve, Rebecca Castaneda, DDS, at Aesthetika Dental Center is recognized as an authority. These are the top five reasons she recommends a natural-looking bridge to improve your smile.

Eliminate embarrassing gaps in your smile

Is there anything worse than enjoying a great laugh with friends or coworkers, only to remember that big gap where you’re missing a molar? And if you happen to be missing a tooth in the front of your mouth, you can’t even talk without showing the embarrassing space.

There’s no doubt that the most important way that a bridge improves your smile is by filling the gap created by the missing tooth. When a bridge fills in for a missing tooth, you’re free to be yourself and enjoy conversations without feeling like you need to cover your mouth.

Freedom to smile should never be underestimated. Your smile has the power to welcome people or give them the impression you’d rather not interact.

Perfectly natural appearance

While you should replace your missing tooth to complete your smile, it’s not good enough to fill in the gap with materials that don’t match your natural teeth.

When you get a bridge at Aesthetika Dental Center, you can be sure that your new tooth will look as beautiful and natural as your original teeth.

As an expert prosthodontist with extensive training and experience in cosmetic dentistry and restoring teeth — and as an artist with an eye for detail — Dr. Castaneda installs bridges that are made from the best material available: porcelain.

Porcelain is customized to match the natural color of your surrounding teeth, and it’s carefully sculpted into the perfect shape. More importantly, it has a semi-translucent sheen that’s similar to your tooth enamel, a quality you can’t get from other materials used to make bridges. The final benefit for your overall appearance is that porcelain resists staining.

In some cases, zirconia can be used to create the best bridge. It’s a type of ceramic material that’s stronger than porcelain and delivers a realistic-looking tooth replacement.

Prevent crooked teeth

Getting a dental bridge improves your smile by preventing crooked or slightly twisted teeth. While you may focus only on the gap due to a missing tooth, it’s also important to remember that the loss of a tooth presents a structural problem for neighboring teeth.

When you have a missing tooth, the nearby teeth begin to tilt or move toward the opening. The tooth opposite the space in the adjoining jaw may move up or down. This type of tooth movement leads to crooked teeth, adds to embarrassment over your appearance, and affects your dental health.

Your bite may become uneven, which results in unequal pressure when you bite down and can make your teeth susceptible to cracking and other damage. Twisted teeth are also harder to brush, so you’re more susceptible to tooth decay.

Avoid further tooth loss

You’ve already lost one tooth, so you don’t want that to lead to the loss of more teeth. Although your teeth depend on their roots to hold them in place, they’re also supported by their neighboring teeth. When you’re missing a tooth, the nearby teeth are at risk of becoming loose enough to come out.

Maintain your natural facial shape

Would you be surprised to learn that the gap created by a missing tooth could change the shape of your face? It can happen because your teeth add structural support to your jaw and face.

When you have a missing tooth, your jawbone begins to shrink, and structures in your face can shift. Over time, these changes affect the your face and your smile. The angles of your face change, the position of your chin can rotate, and the muscles of your mouth may lose their tone. You can avoid all of these problems by having your smile is restored with a bridge.

If you’re missing a tooth, call the Aesthetika Dental Center in the Union Square neighborhood of San Francisco or book an appointment online — we’ll make you happy to smile again with a custom-made bridge.

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